National Fire Authority (NFA) completed the one week Fire and Vehicle Investigation Course at Novotel Hotel in Lami this afternoon.

Participants from Fiji, Samoa and Solomon Islands attended the course.

Fire Investigation is a specialized field and it is very important that we upskill our people with relevant competencies so they can effectively investigate the causes of fire incidents.

Fire investigation is fundamental to the prevention and reduction of fires and if we identify the correct causes of fires, we can be very strategic in our mitigation strategies and more importantly very specific in our fire safety and community awareness programs and messages.

It is very important that you are well equipped with the right competencies, skills and knowledge to enable you to carry out your role as a fire investigator.

“We are very fortunate to have this partnership arrangement with the Country Fire Authority of Victoria, Australia and I am very grateful for their continued assistance in the improvement of our Fire Service and particularly the conduct of this course.

We plan to facilitate the provision of work attachments for fire investigators to provide them with more exposure and in-depth experience into this field.

The NFA is also exploring further avenues for enhancement of specialized skills such as Fire Investigations with various departments overseas and we are looking into similar arrangements with Australia, Singapore and Indonesia to boost capability and competencies in these specialized fields.

I am pleased to see participation from the Solomon Islands Electricity Authority and the Samoa Fire Service as well as participants from our local private sector. This positive response from our regional neighbours and the private sector is a clear indication of the growing common demand for the enhancement of competencies in such specialized technical skills.

I must also express my gratitude for the support shown by the local business community towards making this course possible. Their contribution has enabled us to extend invitations to both the local and regional organizations and reduce the course fees for the participants.